Morgan State Drops Tough Season Opener to Army

The Morgan State Bears football team opened its season with a tough matchup against the U.S. Military Academy Black Knights, losing, 28-12, on Aug. 30 at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y.

Army junior quarterback Angel Santiago was too much to contain for the Bears, as he was responsible for four touchdowns, three rushing and one passing. Morgan State fell into an early hole, trailing by 14 points within the first 15 minutes. Santiago ran for a 33-yard touchdown, followed by a 14-yard touchdown both in the first quarter to get the two-touchdown lead. Morgan State wouldn’t get any closer as Army easily went on to coast to victory.

Santiago finished with 120 yards on 16 carries. Army running back Larry Dixon also ran for 107 yards.

Despite the loss, Morgan State junior quarterback Robert Council led the team to two scoring drives, including a 82-yard drive capped off by a one-yard dive for the touchdown. Council also hooked up with senior receiver Chris Flowers for a 22-yard touchdown catch. Council shared snaps with junior quarterback Seth Higgins who completed 2-of-3 passes for 135 yards.

The Bears finished with 301 yards on offense, including 185 yards rushing.
"The bottom line is that we knew that we could play with them," said Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley.

"We got them to punt during the second half and it looked like we came together as a team in the second half. We just needed to finish on offense for a couple of those drives. We're going to take the whole game and learn from it, but we certainly came together as a team."

Morgan State will next face Robert Morris at Hughes stadium in Baltimore on Sept. 7. Morgan State defeated Robert Morris 13-12 at their last match-up in 2011.